‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ star Malek says has Freddie Mercury ‘in soul’

Rami Malek poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Man I Love' at the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in the blockbuster biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”, said Wednesday he had the Queen star “in my soul” as he prepared to hit screens in a new musical role.

The 45-year-old is the lead in “The Man I Love” by U.S. director Ira Sachs about a fictional gay artist with AIDS in New York, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

“I think Freddie Mercury will help me for the rest of my life,” Malek told AFP and a small group of journalists.

“Freddie is someone I never want to get rid of. He resides somewhere in my soul, and I hope he keeps advising me throughout my life,” he added of the late rocker he played in the 2018 film, who died of complications of AIDS in 1991.

He wondered about the career risks of accepting another musical role in “The Man I Love”, which is competing for the best picture prize in Cannes.

“When I first read the script, I wondered if it was too similar. But it’s a different world, a different energy, so I took the plunge,” he said.

The film follows performer Jimmy George as he moves through the underground New York music scene of the late 1980s at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

Sachs, 60, a key figure in American independent cinema, delved into his own memories to recreate the New York that was both hit hard by AIDS and driven by sexual and celebratory energy.

His latest film is one of 22 in the main competition in Cannes, with the winner set to be announced on Saturday.